happy anniversary!

today is our 7th wedding anniversary! and while i can't say that it has all been wedded bliss, i can't imagine another man more suited to my needs than brian. and i can only hope that he feels the same way. this past year has been full of ups and downs. moving back to dallas, living with my mom for 5 weeks, buying a new house, selling our old one, having a baby, and brian changing jobs, all within 5 weeks, has been pretty hard. having my husband work from home has been much different than i thought! it has been so great in some ways- he's been flexible, so helpful, and has bonded with the kids- it has also been a great test to our relationship. i wish i was a better writer so i could convey the feelings flowing through my mind. but the bottom line is that i love my husband. he is everything that i am not. he stretches me. he supports me. he loves me. he takes care of me. he apologizes when he is wrong. he doesn't gloat when he is right.
and right now i miss him! he left today to speak at a youth camp in east texas. so we celebrated our anniversary early- on friday night. my mom was wonderful to come stay with the kids for the night. we went to sundance square in fort worth and had dinner at razzoos after we checked in to the hilton. it was so good since we haven't been there in years!

after dinner i had bought tickets to see an improv comedy group called 4 day weekend. we headed over to the show, and the first 15 minutes was so funny. but then the tide turned, and the subject matter got so perverted and offensive that we couldn't stay. talk about a potential night ruiner. we were so frustrated- last time we went to see the group, it was good (but that was about 8 years ago). when you anticipate something for so long, and then to have it not turn out is hard!

after that, we went to barnes and nobles, and read for a little while, then we were going to go to a late movie, but we couldn't agree on which one (i wanted to see get smart, he wanted to see indiana jones 4). so we ended up just going back to our room and going to bed. (unfortunately, my "monthly friend" decided to come that weekend:() anyways. the next day was better. we slept in, went and had breakfast at a pancake house in fort worth. then we drove around, and were going to go to the omni, but it is closed for remodeling, so we just ended up going to the paint horse gift show (country folk selling their boots, saddles, and other cowboy gear). then we went to the mall and walked around before heading home.

marriage is such an incredible thing. i've heard before that maybe it is for our holiness than our happiness, and although i am happy, i am finding it to be more and more true. i have had to be, and am still, learning about God through the trials of marriage. i tend to be a little dependent on my husband, and while he is pretty dependable, he is human! and i can't trust him with all the areas of my life. God is the only one who can do that. i am still struggling with this one- but as i have friends whose trials are harder than mine, i am struck with thankfulness. that He is faithful to still work with me, even though i am stubborn, a crybaby, and and downright disobedient too. even though most days i am kicking and screaming, i am slowly but surely learning how to navigate this thing called life. with God's help, of course.

SHE'S ONE!!

her wonderful entrance into the world at 12:13 pm on june 20, 2007!!





i can't believe my baby is one! friday was her birthday, and we had a "small" get together for her birthday. just my family and brian's family was a crowd, and we added a few church friends to make a huge party! we rented a bounce house (i thought it would be a great idea. it wasn't) it was sooo hot, and we had trouble getting the thing to inflate. these summer parties are going to have to either be inside somewhere, or involve water of some kind!! anyways, we all enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, and a cake from costco (yum!). everyone ended up having a good time, even though we were packed in like sardines!!

kenzie and her daddy

aunt stacy's new 'do

cousin logan

cousin aubren
trying to keep the house up!

presents! zach, mommy, kenzie, julian, madison, molly

what is this?

waiting patiently for cake...
look mommy!

something funny must have happened!

first taste of her cake.
she was so clean! must neater than her siblings.
what is on my hands?

happy fathers day baby!

i just had to post something about the most wonderful father, the kind of father that father's day was created for. my husband brian!! well, we all know that words and writing is not my gifting, but i will do the best that i can to honor him and love him on this special day! brian is really the most patient person. he has never raised his voice to me and is a optimist in every sense of the word. his children love him so much- he is their favorite person to play with!! he plays outside with them, teaches them drums, plays guitar and makes up songs with them, says prayers with them at night, gets up in the morning and helps me change diapers and feed them, not to mention all the work he does to provide for our family! he even watches the kids for me while i grocery shop. on family days he takes us to do fun things like movies, the zoo, the dallas aquarium, bowling, the arcade, barnes and nobles, out to eat, picnics, state fairs, shopping, mall (carousel and play place), and is always being creative and trying to find fun new things to do. another of the things that he does that i love is date audrey. they take oreos over to barnes and noble, and eat cookies and drink water, while she tells him about her day/week. then they go read books, and it is audrey's highlight of her week! we all just adore him, and have enjoyed the last year with him as he has worked from home!! i love you baby, and hope that you have a great father's day.

here we are at one of our really fun dates- he took me to a stars game! it was our first time in the american airlines center. it was so fun.

a couple of pictures from the state fair last year- his favorite part (of course) was the new cars. audrey and zach had fun sitting in cars with him- he is definitely passing on his love of cars and motorcycles!he also took audrey and zach on the ferris wheel. i was (and always have been) too scared to go on it, so i stayed below with the baby.

audrey and zach are already able to play a simple beat on the drums! and we are starting early with makenzie. the drums are a favorite!on one of our family days, he took us to an imax movie- sea creatures. it was a little intense, so the kids didn't last long. but it was a good idea!

no fear

well, we had an interesting bible study! one of our neighbors had just been to the pet store to pick up some mice for his snake... needless to say, zach loved them!! i guess he gets his fearlessness from brian, who teaches him to pick up all the creepy crawlies! he was even brave enough to hold it. it crawled up his arm and tried to go down his shirt. he just laughed!
then friends tim and sara brought their new "baby" belle. he had the best time playing with the puppy!

you know you're a mom when...

you know you're a mom when you are telling everyone about your baby's pooping habits. last sunday i think i kind of freaked out a couple of our child-free friends when i was telling them about makenzie's latest pooping woes. as a mother of three, not much bothers me about poop these days. i've seen it all- diarrea, seeds, whole raisins, all of those newborn baby textures and colors. but makenzie gave me another of those poopy experiences... constipation! audrey and zach have never been constipated. i haven't ever seen a baby cry and be so uncomfortable as she was the other day. she just was crying and crying, and i smelled poop, so i was going to change her diaper. but when i opened it up,the poop was sticking half way out of her little patootie. i didn't know what to do. it wasn't coming out, so i grabbed a wet wipe, and tried to grab it and pull it out, but it went back in instead. i just thought great! now she'll have to go through all of that again. and of course, late that night she did. poor baby, it just got stuck. anyways, to make a long story short, i ended up having to put some ky jelly around the area so the little turd would slip out! i know that's gross. the doctor told us to give her benefiber every day, so now i make sure to give it to her, but sometime she still gets seriously constipated. i don't know what causes it.

anyways, now that you are grossed out, you can look at a few pictures to remind you of how cute and precious the kiddos are. today was a beautiful day (a bit cold for the beginning of may, however). we put a blanket outside and the kiddos played around. i got this swing for kenzie this morning at a garage sale for 2 dollars.
we were doing superman with the kids, and i thought this may be a cute little picture with the blue sky and green trees above. they are different but cute!

Happy 30th Birthday Carleigh!

This is Lori, I wanted to take some time to raid Carleigh's blog for her 30th birthday week!
Carleigh, you know the true meaning of a best friend! We can totally share anything and know that it is safe in the vault of friendship. I remember back in college when we were RA's together and played intramurals! We loved playing anything related to sports. You had the most awesome dorm room on the 4th floor of Spence and we used to pile up serious blankets and take turns napping there!
I'll never forget all the times you have said "That's what friends are for!" It might be my favorite phrase. We've cried together, laughed together, talked about boys together (Dave and Brian!) and now our kids can play together! Carleigh, I love you! You are a great mom to THREE KIDS!
If you are reading this make sure to stop by, leave a comment and wish Carleigh a Happy 30th Birthday!

my birthday weekend!

my 30th birthday was so much fun! it all started on saturday, when my 2 sisters, sister-in-law, and my mother all took me out to breadwinners for brunch. it was soooo good! brian had the kids for the day. after we ate, we all went to get manicures and pedicures together, which was fun. the only time i usually get a pedicure is before a wedding, or when i am so greatly with-child that i can't reach my toes. so this was a special treat! after that, we went and picked up some ice cream and a video, and went back to stacy's house to watch and eat!! here we are at stacy's eating our ice cream from marble slab. we watched the movie sydney white, which was pretty cute.
then, monday, my birthday, brian let me sleep in a little while he fed and diapered the kids!! gotta love that! when i came into the kitchen, there were flowers, a huge balloon, and one of my favorite combos since college: powdered donuts and orange juice. the kids especially enjoyed the donuts since we rarely have them! we spent the morning lazing around the house (i spent the night before cleaning so that i wouldn't have to worry about cleaning on my birthday!). for lunch my little sister karis brought me schlotzsky's and a shake, which was yummy. then the 2 of us headed off to see our other sister, kristin, who was in the hospital having a baby!!! yes, my nephew tysen joel was born on my birthday. the funny thing is, kristin's last baby, ian, was born on brian's birthday! anyways, i spent the afternoon up there, but had to leave before he came because my husband had planned a party for me at the skating rink.

here i am with robby, audrey, promise, and claire

amanda and vanessa came to join in the fun!!
posing for the camera
here i am with all of my nieces and nephews (except for kristin's boys, logan, ian, and tysen!)

austin, lauren, mary, aubren(trey and stacy's daughter), promise, sarah, kayla, and timothy!

me, jilian, and hilary- friends for 25 years!! i've known them both since i was about 5. we homeschooled together for a long time, and now jilian has 6 kids, and hilary and i have 3 each!! it was so sweet to have them both come to celebrate my 30th.
the next day we went to visit tysen, who arrived during the skating party. zachary and audrey were so excited to meet their new cousin! he weigh 7lbs, 8oz, but he was 3 weeks early, so imagine how big he would have been if he came when he was supposed to!!